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Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Our Pine Valley Christmas

Christ and children - that's Christmas! There is just something magical about the two being intertwined in the holiday festivities. With an eternal perspective, we recognize that each one of us is a child of God, and our worship of the Savior under any circumstance is a humble and joyful childlike moment.

Thanks to Jill, we had magical Christmas Eve. She put together a fun and inspiring musical holiday program which engaged the whole family. This will surely become a treasured Christmas tradition for the Goodman Family! (Below are a few selections that were included.)

Frosty the Snowman

Must Be Santa

Russian Dance

Legend of the Candy Cane

The Nutcracker Ballet

The Nativity

After the program it was time for a few Christmas Eve family photos before getting kids to bed and pulling out the games and m&ms.

Have you ever seen parents looking more pleased than Bob and I?

Sharon - "Gaga" or "Poohpie" and Bob - "Pa"

Max, Jill, Linley, Bobby and Elynor

Bennett, Ben, Emma, Stephanie, and Paige

Thomas, Chelsea, and ?

Kristin and Michael

We awoke on Christmas morning to the squeals of joy coming from our grand children as they discovered the many gifts left for them by "Santa". Contrary to what I sometimes hear, the kids must have been exceptionally good this year! The truth is that all of us "kids" were quite spoiled by many thoughtful gifts shared with one another.

I am always touched by "homemade" gifts, with which we seem to give a little more of ourselves. Kristin made a lap blanket for Michael and and hot chocolate and cookie mixes in a jar for all of her new in-laws, Chelsea and Thomas crafted a family birthday memory board for Bob and I. Stephanie and Ben created a family photo birthday and anniversary calendar for us as well. Bobby and Jill's kids each wrote and illustrated story books for us and Jill stamped a necklace for me and a tie clip for Bob. Bob and I finally organized 34 years worth of family photos and videos and put them on an external memory drive for each of our children. (Whew, that was a challenge!)

And whether our children know it or not, among our favorite gifts from them this year is their faithfulness to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the loving care and concern they extend to each member of our family. We are so grateful that they really do love each other - even if they may not always like each other!